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food for hunters

I thought the rabbit was REALLY cute. So sue me. (As Rick rolls his eyes.)

If I had it my way, I’d make every Marie Callender’s in the United States serve Rabbit Pot Pie. And instead of using potatoes, we decided to substitute with cauliflower. It’s something different and works quite well. Not to mention, rabbit pot pie is A LOT healthier than chicken pot pie. There was barely any fat on our little cottontail. (I once made the mistake of looking at the calorie count brochure at Marie’s.)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: about 2 hrs and 20 minutes

Servings: 3 individual ramekins

Ingredients:

- 1 rabbit

- 1 tbs. oil

- water

- salt and pepper, to taste

- 1 bay leaf

- 4-5 tbs. flour

- half an onion, chopped

- 1 large carrot, diced

- 1 1/2 cups of cauliflower, cut into small pieces

- frozen peas

- pre-made puff pastry/pie crust/biscuit

- 1/4 tsp. dried thyme

- 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

- 1 chicken bouillon cube (optional)

- 1 egg yoke

1. Trim as much meat as you can off the rabbit. Cut the meat into small pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Discard any dark/bruised parts from shot. It’s not good eats.

Keep bones for broth.

2. In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat oil and quickly brown rabbit (plus bones) on both sides (1-2 minutes).

3. Add water, just enough to cover the rabbit. I’d say we put in about 3 cups of water.Add 1 bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender.

Skim off any foam that float to the surface.You want the broth to be clear.

4. Discard the bones. Use a fork to scrape off any meat left on the bones.

5. Add in carrots, onion, cauliflower, thyme and rosemary. Add extra water if you need to, enough to cover all the rabbit and all the veggies.

Cover and simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.

We decided to have a little BBQ this past weekend, a good chance for a few of my friends to try some venison. We had a spread of cheese, crackers and venison summer sausages, which went pretty quick. After all the hamburgers, hotdogs and korean bbq (courtesy of my good friend Caroline), we all walked down to the beach to watch the sunset. The weather was perfect. It wasn’t too hot, and it wasn’t too cold. I keep hearing on the radio how lucky we Californians have been in the weather department. While the rest of the country is simmering in the late 90s and 100s, we have been chillin’ in the 80s.

Anyway, after we came back, we threw these venison skewers on the barbeque, and they became a BIG hit. Everyone loved it, and commented how it wasn’t “gamey” at all, not like what they had imagined and heard in the past about deer meat. “Tender” was the word that was heard ’round the room. The cilantro-garlic sauce was fantastic, and paired perfectly with this popular game.

Thanks to the Glowienke’s for providing their beautiful house by the beach in Corona Del Mar. I was dog sitting the entire week. Keno is the name of their crazy, but cute little dog.

Servings: 16 people as an appetizer

Prep time: about 1 1/2 hrs

Cooking time: 6 minutes

Ingredients:

- 3 lbs. venison roast, cut into 1-inch strips

- 7 garlic cloves, peeled

- 1 cup fresh parsley leaves

- 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

- 3 tsp. Kosher salt

- freshly ground black pepper

- 2 tbs. lemon juice

- 1 cup + 3 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
- bamboo skewers

I. Cilantro-Garlic Sauce

1. In a food processor, mince garlic. Set 1 tbs. aside.

2. Add parsley, cilantro, 1 tsp. salt and a few grinds of pepper into food processor. Pulse until chopped.

3. With the motor running, add lemon juice and 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil in a steady stream. *If you’re using a small machine, like we did, that’s not a good idea. Just pulse, stop the machine, add some oil, then repeat.